balancing kids, life and work on the go

Do I REALLY Sound like that?

It happened yesterday. I was playing dolls with big sister – the kind that have different clothes magnets, so it’s easy to change their outfits.

My daughter was playing the mommy and kept saying, “C’mon hon, we need to go to swimming.” Or “Okay sweetie, we have locker number fifty nine. Let’s talk your shoes off hon.” Literally every sentence had the word “sweetie” or “hon.”

She pronounces sweetie like schweetie (not to be confused with schweddy as in schweddy balls), so for awhile I wasn’t sure what she was saying.

Then it dawned on me – she is repeating what she hears, so do I really sound like that? Am I constantly calling her sweetie or hon? It was quite cute to hear her play out our trips to swimming lessons, but it certainly reminded me that I need to watch what I say!

She has also enjoyed telling her so-called jokes. One time after dinner I was talking about an undesirable situation and paused for the right words. Big sister chimed in saying “it would be a DISASTER.” The timing and delivery were spot-on, so we all laughed. Now every time she says disaster, she laughs hysterically, and we manage a fake laugh. I guess joke telling really is a talent that needs to be learned and perfected. I don’t really recall using the word disaster that often, so who knows where she picked it up.

In addition to schweetie, hon, and disaster, big sister is picking up some other terms that we don’t care for – name calling. She called little brother a poopy head and promptly received a scolding. I’m sure this name calling will only continue as she learns things – good and bad from her fellow pre-schoolers. I’ll take sweetie or hon any day over poopy head!